bike culture blogged

We talked flax/carbon frames and the man told me himself they were stiff and compliant. He didn’t want to buy a frame from Asia and put his name on it; instead, he’s been working on a “green” frame and the next models are 100% flax.

A Huggacast of our interview will post later. Also note that we posted on flax earlier and I’d questioned it’s ride quality. Well, who am I to argue with Johan Museeuw. During our talk, I grabbed the rear triangle and it doesn’t move.

3 Comments

I still think the idea of a flax frame as ‘greener’ than steel or aluminium is a little bit silly.

A metal frame can, realistically, last essentially forever as a bike frame. So for it’s intended purpose, having something that is not biodegradable, but is instead extremely durable, makes sense. We don’t need plastic eating utensils that will last forever, but a bike frame that can do so is not such a bad idea.

Especially since steel and aluminium are so widely and easily recycled, if it comes to that.

I’d be very interested in seeing a lifecycle analysis for a flax/composite frame…

Sure and I shouldn’t mischaracterize Museeuw’s statement as being “greener than tho.” I don’t think he’s trying to be the Al Gore of the bike industry. His decision was to not rebrand another Giant frame from Asia and instead make something new and flax is a “new” frame material that’s natural and renewable. How natural? I don’t know either and my take was “that’s interesting.” And same thing with Bamboo.